By Your Side
by tom117z
Summary: When a routine call goes horribly wrong, Nick Wilde is faced with a prospect he might not be able to handle. Losing Judy.
1. Prologue

"Sly Bunny."

"Dumb Fox."

A police cruiser sat at a red light, two other cars waiting patiently behind them as the occupants teased each other playfully. The passenger was a fox, while the driver was a bunny.

Officer Judy Hopps looked into the rear view mirror, adjusting it so she could get a better view of the other cars.

"Looking for something?" Officer Nick Wilde asked.

"Just staying vigilant," she responded. "This is Zootopia, anything can happen."

"Anything?"

"Anything," she confirmed. "Why? What are you up to?"

Nick shrugged, slipping one paw into his right pocked where he held tightly onto something. He glanced under the window, his signature smirk being replaced with a look of contemplation.

"Nick? Are you sure you're OK?"

"I'm fine, Carrots," he assured. "Just… thinking."

"That's new for you," she jokingly remarked.

Officer Wilde shot his partner an amused glance, before turning back to the window. It midday sun hung in the sky, lighting up the vast metropolis with its gentle glow.

The light turned green, and Judy moved the car on forwards down the street.

"Carrots, could you pull over?"

"Huh?"

"Could you pull over, please?" he repeated.

A little bewildered, Judy scanned for the nearest parking space and quickly pulled the cruiser into it. Locking the brakes in, she looked towards the fox.

"Alright, so what's happening? Asking me to pull over, looking all contemplative out the window… Nick, are you sure you're OK?"

"I really am, but there is something on my mind I really need to get out."

"Alright, what is-" Judy was interrupted when something began to come in over the police radio, something that Nick was too distracted to notice.

Unaware that his partner was focused on the radio, Nick continued on, pulling a small box out of his pocket.

"Judy, will you-"

"Roger that, we'll check it out, over," Judy stated, placing down the radio. "We've got a 415 downtown, we need to go check it out."

"Oh," Nick said, quickly pocketing the box. "A disturbance, huh? What kind?"

"There was a report of a heated argument between two buffalo that may turn ugly."

"Well, we better go make it pretty then," Nick remarked. "All right Carrots, let's get to it."


	2. The Construction Yard

_Downtown Zootopia_

The cruiser pulled into the construction yard in downtown Zootopia. An old building had recently been demolished, a few broken walls being all that remained. Equally, giant beams of steel were stacked around the area in preparation for the replacement structure to begin construction.

"You sure this is the place?" Nick asked. "Looks all quiet to me."

Right on schedule, a loud crash accompanied a small piece of machinery being chucked across the yard, violent shouting coming a little afterwards.

"You were saying?" Judy snarked as she got out of the car, making sure her service weapon and carrot pen were secured on her belt.

Nick quickly followed on with a roll of his eyes, the two ZPD officers approaching the two buffalo engaging in a severe shouting match. A car, likely belonging to the pair, was parked just next to them in front of a large gathering of beams and construction equipment.

"It's your fault, fool!" one of the buffalo shouted.

"Go to hell, you know what you did!" the other angrily bellowed back.

"Um, hello?" Judy called out with a wave to get the pair's attention.

The two buffalo glanced at the new arrivals, their argument dying off as their studied the cops carefully.

"Well look who it is, the fuzz."

"In the flesh," Nick remarked. "The line for autographs starts right over there."

Judy shot Nick a bemused glance, before turning back to the buffalo.

"Yes, well… We received a report of a disturbance in the area, which I would assume to be you two."

"A disturbance, huh?" one questioned.

"Yes, might we ask what is happening here?"

"Nothing that concerns you, ma'am. But, your being here is most fortuitous."

Nick and Judy glanced at one another in confusion.

"How so?" the bunny asked.

"We have something to show you," one of the buffalo stated. "Something you might want to see."

"And… was this 'something' the cause of your argument."

"You might say that."

Nick looked between the pair, before leaning towards Judy and muttering: "Carrots, I don't like this. Not one bit."

She had to agree, the whole situation seemed a little suspect. One moment the two buffalo had been at each others' throats, and now they were passive with one another as if somebody had thrown a switch; something was definitely up. However, Judy didn't respond, instead continuing to question the two buffalo with her notepad and pen at the ready.

"Might you tell us what this 'something' is?" she enquired.

The buffalo glanced at one another. "It is really something you should see yourself."

"All due respect, sir, but I'm sure you can at least give a description."

"And I told you that you should see it for yourself," one buffalo stated, leaning down over the much smaller bunny. "Now, follow us, I insist."

Nick discretely elbowed Judy, glancing towards the partially revealed gun previously hidden by the buffalo's shirt, which had risen up slightly as he leaned over.

Judy spotted it too, and from the corner of her eye she swore she could see movement in the maze of large construction equipment and steel beams. Slowly backing off, Judy put away her notepad and carrot pen, paw slowly creeping towards her weapon.

The buffalo noticed this. "And where do you think you're going?"

Alarm bells ringing ringing in their heads, one of them had to say something and fast.

"I'm afraid before we do that, there is something we need to get by the car," Nick lied. "It'll take just a moment."

"You're not going anywhere, you damned cops," the buffalo stated snidely just as gunfire shot out from the mass behind them, a couple more buffalo revealing themselves.

"It's a trap!" Nick shouted as he and his partner scrambled away and jumped behind a dilapidated wall, both drawing their weapons.

"I knew there was something up with this!" Nick shouted as gunfire continued to spray against their cover. "They must have deliberately drawn us out here for this."

"But what for?" Judy questioned.

"How should I know?!" Nick shouted back. "Some people just really hate cops. They're probably a gang."

Judy glanced through a hole in the wall where a few bricks were missing, seeing a few more gang members emerge, and these ones were wolves. Overall, they were facing six gunmen.

Judy jumped back as a bullet shot through the gap, narrowly missing her head.

"Careful, Carrots!" Nick shouted in warning.

"I'm fine!" she assured. "I saw several more of them coming out, we need backup!"

"Copy that!" Nick stated, grabbing his radio. "Dispatch, this is Officer Wilde, we are pinned down and in need of backup!"

As Nick gave their location, Judy peered out again. She was just in time to see a couple of the gunmen give out groans as their guns gave audible clicks instead of firing bullets, the gang members moving to reload.

"They're reloading, now's our chance!" Judy stated, glancing at another wall to their right she could easily reach from their current location.

"Carrots, wait!" Nick shouted too late as Judy bolted from their cover.

Judy dived from their cover in the direction of the second wall a short distance away, firing a shot off as she went. The round she fired flew all the way towards the wolf by the car who just finished reloading, the bullet impacting his head and downing him immediately.

Judy made it to the second wall, quickly standing against by its edge as she composed herself.

"I got one, Nick!" she shouted back towards her partner, but was confused to see his ears drooped as he looked at her in utter terror.

"Judy…" he called out, his voice cracking he did so.

It was then Judy felt something leaking by her side. She placed a shaking paw where she felt the wet substance, and brought it up to examine. Her paw was covered in crimson blood, her blood. She glanced down at the rapidly expanding red stein around a hole in her uniform, and then up to Nick as her vision began to fade.

"N-Nick…"

Then, she collapsed backward into the dirt.

"JUDY!" Nick shouted out in anguish as he dropped down into all fours and sprinted from his cover over to the fallen bunny.

He made the quick trip without injury even as bullets continued to fly around him. When he arrived he quickly cradled the semi-conscious bunny in her arms, tearing off a piece of his sleeve and pressing it against the bullet wound in an attempt to stop the bleeding.

"Carrots, look at me! Please!" he shouted desperately as her eyelids began to close.

With one paw on the wound, he used the other to grab his radio and activate it.

"We have an officer down, we need an ambulance! IMMEDIATELY!"

He received hurried confirmations from the other end of the radio, dropping the device a moment later as he turned all his attention back to Officer Hopps.

"Judy!" he shouted out as all life seemed to drain from her body. "Judy, keep your eyes open…"

Her eyelids closed, her consciousness leaving her.

"Judy… come on, stay with me! Stay with me!"

He received no response from the downed officer, all his usually cocky mannerisms seemed a lifetime away as tears began to breach his eyes.

"No… Judy… JUDY PLEASE!"

His ears twitched as sirens blared out, several ZPD vehicles storming into the site as armed officers piled out. The gunmen gave a shout, beginning to pull back as they were quickly outnumbered. But there was nowhere to run, and soon enough they dropped their weapons and surrendered. As all of this transpired Nick kept a tight hold on his beloved Judy Hopps, and when the ambulance arrived they had to gently pry her from his trembling paws.

He watched on as the medics checked her vitals, finding them faint but there, and quickly loading her up into the ambulance to be taken for immediate surgery, citing the need for it lest she die from her wound. Nick shakily got up, trying to make it to the ambulance before it left, only for a large mammal to stop him in his tracks.

"Wilde, let them do their work," Chief Bogo stated sternly, but sympathetically. "Officer Hopps is a fighter, she will be fine."

Nick glanced up towards the chief, and then down to his own paws. Them, and his uniform, were covered completely in Judy's blood. The sight of it made his head spin, his vision going blurry as the world around him lost focus.

Then, everything went dark.

* * *

 _ **I should probably let you know, this fic was inspired by the comic Nick and Judy by Amand 4**_


End file.
